T.C. Williams ninth-grader Sarah Concepcion recently won the Del Ray Greens mosaic competition. Concepcions winning design will be turned into mosaics to adorn the LEED-certified buildings main entrance at the corner of Hume and Mt. Vernon avenues. The contest was open to all public school students in Alexandria and Arlington. A panel of community leaders that included Alexandria Mayor Bill Euille judged the submissions.

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Budget: Finally final

At its meeting last Thursday the Alexandria School Board voted unanimously to finalize its budget for the 2011 fiscal year.

Based on the City Councils May 4 passage of its own financial plan for the year beginning July 1, the Board approved a school budget of $201.1 million that is 1.8 percent bigger than that of the current fiscal year. The City of Alexandrias appropriation to its public school system is $167.8 million.

The plan sets aside $4.9 million to pay for increased contributions to the Virginia Retirement System that will occur in the years ahead. The Board also allocated $1 million for transformation efforts in grades 6 through 12, according to budget memoranda.

The budget for the schools Capital Improvement Program, through 2016, includes funds for two new schools and a track at the Francis C. Hammond Middle School Campus that will begin construction next summer.

This budget sets the stage for future years, said Superintendent Morton Sherman prior to the budget adoption. Had we not gotten the full funding from the city, had we in fact, fallen back I think we would have been in a terrible position to address pressing issues like crowding schools and other unmet student needs.

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John Adams project collects serious change for charity

Students and staff from John Adams Elementary School recently finished their annual Caring Project, which raised $1,592 for Pennies for Patients (through the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society) and Haitian Earthquake Relief (through Save the Children).

The charity fundraiser increased awareness in addition to raising funds for two worthy causes, an ACPS spokesperson said. In coordination with the Caring Project, the school celebrated a spirit day and students and staff wore blue and red honoring the colors of the Haitian flag.

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T.C. student finishes second in national documentary contest

Representatives of Comcast and C-SPAN came to T.C. Williams High School on May 12 to honor Hana Wuerker, the runner-up in C-SPANs national 2010 StudentCam documentary competition.

Wuerker received a $1,500 prize for her documentary Girls Wear Pink, Boys Wear Blue. Nearly 2,000 students from 45 states and the District submitted 1,003 entries in this years competition. A total of $50,000 was awarded in cash prizes to 75 students and 11 teachers.Minnie Howard student wins design contest